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PESA Hosts Program Breakouts at 2019 Annual Meeting

Six committees conducted roundtable discussions at the 2019 Annual Meeting in order to educate members on current programs, recruit new members and solicit feedback for ways the committees can deliver additional benefits.

PESA Committees manage a range of activities designed to educate, empower and elevate sector professionals and collective member companies. Active engagement with PESA Committees is an opportunity for professionals at all levels, and their companies, to show leadership, network with other industry leaders and gain recognition for helping improve the industry.

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS/INTERNATIONAL TRADEGovernment Affairs Committee Chair and PESA Board Member Matt Armstrong, Head of Global Government Affairs, Baker Hughes, a GE company, discussed the growth of government affairs operations within PESA, including a new state-level focus. The team has collected jobs and employment data for more than half of the PESA Member Companies. This aggregate data is used for outreach to members of Congress and other officials.

In addition, PESA has brought members of Congress and other state and local officials to tour member company facilities around the country, including Baker Hughes, a GE company, BJ Services, DistributionNOW and Kimray.

International Trade Policy Committee Chair and PESA Advisory Board Member Doug Polk, Vice President – Industry Affairs, Vallourec, discussed the extremely volatile year for PESA Members that trade outside of the country, due to the tariffs the Trump Administration implemented on U.S. trading partners in March 2018, which were 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum.

The Administration did however allow companies to file petitions with the Department of Commerce in order to exclude certain products from the tariffs. PESA’s International Policy Committee took advantage of this process and submitted 15 different applications for exclusion on behalf of its member companies. As of now, 14 are still pending while one has been denied.

PESA also testified in opposition to the tariffs in front of the United States Trade Representative Robert Lightizer in August 2018, sharing stories of how the tariffs have hurt its member companies and the industry as a whole.

PESA Board Member Kevin Crowley, CEO, Forged Products

Finally, PESA Board Member Kevin Crowley, CEO, Forged Products, shared the results of the 2019 Washington, DC Fly-In, where Members met with more than 40 Congressional representatives and offices, hosted an operator panel with Equinor, ExxonMobil and OccidentalPetroleum, and met with officials from the Department of Energy, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The meeting was the largest DC Fly-In to date.

International Outposts Committee Chair and PESA Advisory Board Member Scott Livingston, President, Intervention & Stimulation Equipment, NOV Completion and Production Solutions, discussed the Middle East Chapter’s activities, including subcommittee development with more than 15 PESA Member Companies represented. The subcommittees had their first meeting in January and discussed regional challenges and best practices.

An Abu Dhabi Middle East Regional District Meeting in November 2018 that included participation from more than 60 companies and speakers from ADNOC, the U.S. Department of Commerce and Risk Advisory Group, and a meeting in March in Dubai with speakers from PDO, L&T Valves, EIC and the Shakir Farsakh, Principal Commercial Officer, U.S. Consulate General.

Jeff Wilhelm, Senior Vice President, GE Energy Services, discussed activities in the West Texas Regional District. Quarterly meetings have been scheduled with Denzil West, CEO, Admiral Permian Resources, on May 23 and Steve Hassmann, Drilling and Completions General Manager, Chevron, on July 16. PESA also began the first Executive Leadership Program in the Permian, with 25 participants and members of the West Texas Steering Committee serving as mentors.

Kristin Hincke, Senior Director Government Affairs, PESA, gave an overview of the Mid-Continent Regional District, which will hold quarterly meetings in both Oklahoma City and Tulsa.